


Come Along With Me

by fangirl_squee



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Background Hadrian/Rosana, Gen, SPOILERS FOR SIH44 (HIERON FINALE), background Lem/Emmanuel - Freeform, background ben/blue j, background throndir/ephrim, people care about fero and he does care about them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 18:40:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20625713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: It takes Fero a grand total of two weeks, three days, forty-six hours, and about three minutes to get bored.





	Come Along With Me

**Author's Note:**

> unbeta'ed - for future readers, I wrote this a few hours after listening to the finale and so I am still very emotional about it and fero.
> 
> title from 'come along with me' by ashley eriksson (also known as the adventure time closing credits song/the song that plays over the montage in the finale of that show).

It takes Fero a grand total of two weeks, three days, forty-six hours, and about three minutes to get bored. Personally, he blames everyone for infecting him with the need for adventure and social interaction. It’s their fault he can’t enjoy his nice, peaceful, solitary life in his cave.

And so, obviously, he goes to tell them in person. Maybe if he sees them, he’ll remember why he wanted to be by himself so much in the first place.

He bumps into Red Jack on the road. Well, not so much  _ bumps into _ , he spots Red Jack a little ways out as he’s flying and drops down onto the path beside him as a halfling, grinning at Red Jack’s startled laugh.

“Out adventuring again, little bird?” says Red Jack.

“Nah,” says Fero, “just visiting.”

“Visiting?” says Red Jack, peering down at Fero as he walks beside him. “Visiting who?”

Fero shrugs. “Whoever’s closest, I guess.”

Red Jack looks thoughtful for a moment, turning his gaze to the road in front of them. Fero follows his gaze, but this part of the Rhizome is unfamiliar to him. The branch they’re on could lead anywhere.

“I believe Ephrim’s cottage is not too far from here,” says Red Jack, “If you were inclined to visit.”

Fero makes a face for a moment, thinking. “I mean, if it’s on my way.”

“On your way to where?”

“Whenever I end up,” says Fero.

Red Jack laughs, the sound of it shaking the branches overhead. “A worthy destination!”

Fero nods through Red Jack’s directions, although if he can’t find the place, hey, he hasn’t  _ really _ set out to find Ephrim’s cottage, so it’ll be no great loss. He takes the map Red Jack gives him though. You never know when you might need a map. Nothing to do with  _ wanting _ to see Ephrim specifically.

Ephrim’s house is only a branch away, the sound of Kodiak barking both signalling his arrival and helping him locate the cottage in the forest. Ephrim and Throndir are in the garden - Throndir with his shirtsleeves rolled up and a streak of dirt across his nose, Ephrim on the edge of the garden, one hand keeping his enormous sunhat in place as he peers up the branch towards Fero.

They both smile when they see him, and Fero finds his shout of greeting silenced by the sudden ache in his throat.

Must be the pollen in the area.

He waves, speeding up a little as he gets to the gate. Kodiak bounds up to greet him, knocking him over and enthusiastically licking his face. Fero laughs, shifting into a dog and licking Kodiak back. They roll, knocking into the garden fence. Ephrim’s shout makes Fero laugh, shifting him back into a halfling again.

He jumps up, standing on his toes to see over the fence. “Hi!”

“Hello,” says Ephrim, “I wasn’t expecting to see you so soon.”

“Well,” says Fero, “I thought you might miss me, so.”

Throndir laughs. “Of  _ course _ we missed you, come here-”

He opens the gate, pulling Fero into a hug. Fero feels Ephrim move towards them, hugging Fero as well. There’s a hot prickle behind his eyelids and he swallows hard, pressing his face against Throndir’s side for a moment.

Damn pollen.

He clears his throat as he steps back. “So, uh. What’cha up to?”

“I- well, I guess you must have heard that I’m not… I stepped down, from my position at the University,” says Ephrim.

“I didn’t,” says Fero, “Who would I have even heard it from?”

“I don’t know, the birds?”

Fero frowns. “Why would birds care who’s a lord and who’s not?”

“I-” Ephrim huffs a laugh. “I suppose they wouldn’t, no.”

Fero rocks back and forth on his heels for a moment, looking around the garden. “So… what’ve you been doing if you’re not bossing people around?”

Ephrim waves a hand at the garden. “This. It’s… it’s nice to just be out here and look after a small patch, see things grow.” He smiles, ducking his head a little. “Throndir’s been kind enough to stop by and help me with it.”

“My pleasure,” says Throndir, a faint lavender flush to his cheeks. “I mean, I’d be coming to see you anyway- oh! Speaking of which, why  _ are _ you here Fero?”

“I’m not allowed to visit?”

“Of course you are,” says Throndir, “We just- weren’t expecting it.”

Ephrim steps closer to Throndir, putting a hand on his arm. “You can visit any time.”

“Well. Good,” says Fero. “Maybe I will.”

He ends up staying a handful of days, helping them in the garden. He’s always been more of a forager than a farmer, but there is something satisfying about digging in Ephrim’s garden, helping coax new life from the warm soil under his hands. It’s nice to spend time with Ephrim too, now that it doesn’t feel like he’s trying to be in charge. He moves more softly through the world. Throndir seems lighter too, his smiles coming more easily under Ephrim’s gaze.

“Where are you going next?” says Throndir.

Fero gestures downward. “That way, I guess.”

“Well, if you’re heading  _ that _ way...” says Ephrim. He turns, picking up a basket. “Could you take some herbs to Hella for me?”

“Why?”

“Because she asked for some in her last letter, and you’re apparently going that way,” says Ephrim.

Fero makes a face. “Fine. But just this once.”

“Of course,” says Ephrim.

It isn’t too far of a journey to Hella and Adaire’s house, and it’s an especially fast journey when taken as a Sprangargoo. Hella’s house is sort of what he expected - a little bigger than Ephrim’s and a little more ramshackle too, smooth wood and stone half at odds with the delicate carvings on the veranda. It reminds him a bit of Adaire’s fancier dresses.

Fero knocks on the door, jumping up to use the brass door knocker to make as much noise as possible. “Hello!”

Rix and Rowe answer the door, narrowing their eyes at him in a way that makes him immediately laugh.

“I’m here to see Hella,” says Fero.

“Why?” says Rix.

“Yeah, what for?” says Rowe.

“What are you two doing- Oh! Fero!” says Hella, poking her head around the corner.

When she sees him, she breaks into a toothy grin. Fero grins back, wriggling his fingers in a wave.

“Got a delivery for you,” says Fero.

“A delivery?” says Hella, “Well, I guess you’d better come in, unless- wait, it’s not something alive is it?”

“No,” says Fero. He thinks for a moment. “Or, wait, not anymore.”

“Fero,” says Hella warningly.

“It’s herbs from Ephrim,” says Fero, “He made me take them because you’re on my way.”

Hella brightens, stepping forward. Now that she’s more in view, Fero can see that she’s wearing an apron over her clothes, streaked with flour. She takes the bag of herbs from Fero hands, smiling down at it for a moment before she turns to Fero.

“Well, in that case, I guess you’d better stay for dinner.”

“I don’t need to eat,” says Fero.

He stays anyway.

It’s a good meal, Rix and Rowe’s enthusiastic talking over one another and Barbellow’s snuffly-snores from under the table reminding him of the better parts of family dinners in the Feritas household. He helps Hella clean up, the sounds of Adaire helping Rix and Rowe with their lessons floating through from the other room.

He doesn’t think he’s ever seen Hella smile so much, and he tells her so.

Hella laughs. “I don’t know, I guess… I guess I just have more to smile about these days.”

She looks towards Adaire as she says it and Adaire looks up, smiling back at her before Rix diverts her attention with a question.

“So,” says Hella, “Where to next?”

“I dunno,” says Fero, “I haven’t planned anything.”

“Do you…” Hella pauses, speaking carefully. “Do you think you’ll go anywhere near the University?”

“Maybe,” says Fero, “Why?”

"If you're going that way, could you drop something off for me?"

"I'm not a messenger service," grumbles Fero, but he takes the letters and the pie Hella gives him all the same.

It’s longer to get from Hella and Adaire’s to the University. He doesn’t quite get  _ lost _ , exactly, but he does lose his way a little, which adds a day. The pie is fresh, so he probably has a few days up his sleeve before he should chuck it rather than give it to Hadrian. He’s on the right branch to get there in plenty of time when he spots Ben and Blue Jay, heading towards him. They wave, and he waves back.

“We heard you’d left!” says Ben, as he and Blue approach.

“I did,” said Fero, “I have.”

“What’s with the…” Blue looks curiously at the box under Fero’s arm.

“Letters and stuff,” says Fero, “from Hella, for Hadrian.”

“Oh,” says Blue. They give Ben a look out of the corner of their eye. “We, uh, we just came from seeing him, actually, so we’re heading back out for a bit, you know, there’s always more to explore.”

“I guess,” said Fero, “I was kind of planning for this to be a quicker trip than it is.”

Ben smiles at that, and Blue laughs.

“Yeah,” says Blue, “It’s always kind of like that.”

They nudge Ben in the side and Ben smiles in earnest, and warmth coming to it that Fero hadn’t even realised was lacking.

“We should be getting on,” says Ben, “We’ve got a while to go before we make camp, if we stick to the plan.”

“Sure,” says Blue, “Who knows, maybe this time we can actually stick to the plan for like a week this time.”

Ben laughs. “I’m not that bad.”

Blue laughs. “You’re  _ absolutely  _ that bad. Good to see you Fero.”

“Yeah,” says Ben, “Always good to see people I can trust.”

Fero finds Hadrian in the small temple he’s built. He’s sitting in the first row of pews, eyes closed, though Fero can tell he’s not asleep. The dappled sunlight illuminates the lines and scars on his face, the grey in his hair and beard. He looks tired.

"You look terrible, man."

Hadrian jumps a little, startled, then huffs a laugh. "Fero. Been a while."

"Yeah," says Fero, "You definitely look like it has."

"You look..." Hadrian peers at him for a moment. "Basically the same."

"Clean living," says Fero.

Hadrian laughs. "I'll bet."

"So," says Fero, "What are you doing?"

"Not much at the moment," says Hadrian, gesturing to the empty stage in front of him, “just… thinking, I suppose.”

"No more legendary warrior stuff, huh?"

"Nope," says Hadrian.

"Do you miss it?"

Hadrian looks up, so Fero does too. There's a swirling mural there, a huge red and white dragon roaring, a tree winding around its tail. Figures, too small to really make out, preparing for battle, building a city, riding bugs.

"Parts of it," says Hadrian, after a moment. "But now... I talk to people, help them through things. It's... I like it. It feels good, at least." He lets out a long breath. “ _ I _ feel good, you know?”

Fero nods, shifting the box under his arm. The weight of it reminds him of why he’s come in the first place.

“Oh, here,” says Fero, pushing the box into Hadrian’s hands. “This is for you, from Hella. And I have some letters here too, somewhere.”

He rummages around in his bag for a moment to find the letter. When he looks up, Hadrian has carefully slid the lid off the box to smell the pie.

“She’s getting really good at this you know,” says Hadrian.

“Well, it’s Hella,” says Fero, “There’s not really anything she  _ can’t _ do.”

Hadrian laughs. “True.” He taps his fingers on the box. “So. You got time to stick around for some pie, or…”

“Sure,” says Fero, “I mean, I don’t really have plans.”

Despite being a few days old the pie is pretty good although not as good, Hadrian assures him, as Rosana’s. Rosana’s laugh carries from the other room.

“He has to say that,” says Rosana.

“I don’t,” says Hadrian, “It’s just the truth. Hella wouldn’t fault me for telling the truth.”

Rosana laughs again, coming into the room to rest her arms on Hadrian’s shoulders where he’s sitting in the chair, pressing a kiss to the top of his head.

“How long are you staying?” says Rosana.

Fero shrugs. “Like I told Hadrian, I don’t really have plans.” Then, because Rosana keeps looking at him, he adds, “I guess I was just going to keep going until I felt like going home again.”

Rosana nods. “Any set path in mind?”

“Not really,” says Fero, “Why, do you have mail you want me to deliver too?”

“Well, now that you mention it-”

Fero groans. “Doesn’t this place  _ have _ a postal system?”

“Yes, but you’re much more trustworthy,” says Rosana, “besides, it’s for Emmanuel, so I’m sure you’d be heading that way sooner or later.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” says Fero.

“I thought you said you didn’t have any plans at all,” says Hadrian.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I was going to go see-” Fero sighs. “ _ Fine _ . Where’s the letter or whatever?”

“Thank you,” says Rosana, “I’ll go get it. It’s just a small letter. We’ve been trading recipes.”

“My wife,” says Hadrian proudly, “trading recipes with the most famous baker in the Rhizome.”

Rosana huffs a laugh, kissing the top of his head again before she steps away to get the letter. It is small, only a handful of pages really, and so Fero sighs, long-suffering, and takes the letter. 

He stops by Hadrian’s temple again before he leaves, pushing open the heavy wooden door just enough so he can slip inside. He pads through the silent space, his footfalls echoing, until he reaches the line of small shrines, trailing his finger along the tiled edge until he finds the one he was looking for: long lines of twisting glass roots in-between floral mosaics.

Samol.

Fero sits down in front of it. It’s been cleared of offerings, all the shrines have. Fero has no idea if Samol gets many, or if he gets any at all. Samol probably wouldn’t mind either way, Fero thinks. He looks at the glittering tiles for a long time, before he opens his bag, looking for something.

One of the crystals in his cave wall had broken off, parts of the new Spring wrapped around it. He’d found it on his way out, tucking it into his bag instead of bringing it back inside, planning on putting on his shelf later, when he got back home, but…

It seemed better, to leave it here for Samol to have. Wherever he was.

He tucks the piece of his home in the twisting roots of the glass tree, and slips out as quietly as he’d come in.

Lem and Emmanuel are further away again, although whether Rosana’s directions are much easier to follow than Hella’s or he’s able to find his way better this time, he doesn’t lose his way this time around. It’s a pretty simple task to find Emmanuel anyway - the smell of baking wafts over the whole branch, stronger the closer Fero gets.

Despite that, it’s Lem who answers the door.

“Oh,” says Lem.

“ _ That’s _ all you have to say to me?” says Fero.

“I- You- are you  _ really  _ going to pick a fight with me right away?” says Lem.

“Lem?” comes Emmanuel’s voice, “Who is it?”

Fero pushes past Lem, pulling out Rosana’s letter. “Mail delivery!”

“Fero, hello- oh, from Rosana,” says Emmanuel, “Oh, good, thank you for bringing it, her last two letters took such a long time to arrive.”

“You’re welcome,” says Fero.

He turns and sticks his tongue out at Lem, who splutters. Fero laughs.

“Are you staying long?” says Emmanuel, “I remember you don’t eat, but you should stay for  _ something _ , as a thank you for coming all this way.”

Lem frowned.

“Well if you  _ insist _ ,” says Fero.

Emmanuel shoos them both out of the kitchen while he “puts something together”. Lem sits down in an overly-large armchair and pretends to read. Fero can tell he’s pretending, because he’s staring at the page without moving his eyes, a very old Lem technique that really only served to compel Fero to bother him.

Fero hops up onto the arm of the chair, grinning at Lem’s huff of breath. 

“So,” says Fero, “what have  _ you _ been doing?”

Lem sets the book down without holding his page, another sign he wasn’t reading the book. “Experimenting, I suppose you’d call it. Trying to find the pattern to this new world.”

“And?”

“It’s been… difficult,” says Lem, “Although, I’ll admit, I haven’t been trying too hard, I’ve mostly been, well. This could all go at any time, you know? So I’ve mostly just been… trying to enjoy it.” He pauses. “What have you been doing? I heard you went back to that cave.”

“I did,” said Fero, “But then I came out again, and people keep asking me to deliver their mail.”

Lem laughs softly. “Fero Feritas: mailman. I wouldn’t have expected that.”

“I’m  _ not _ ,” says Fero, “That was the last letter.”

Lem hums. “So now what?”

Fero wriggles, thinking. “I dunno. I don’t quite feel like going home just yet.”

“Well, where were you planning to go when you left the cave?”

Fero tilts his head, wriggles again. “I didn’t really have a plan. Here, I guess.”

“ _ Here _ ?”

“Well, I’ve already seen everyone else,” says Fero.

“I suppose, I just-” Lem frowns. “I thought you’d had quite enough of me.”

“I had,” says Fero, “But I haven’t seen you in a little while.”

Lem’s expression softens. “Oh, I… you know, it’s good to see you too.”

Fero stills under Lem’s gaze. “I didn’t think you’d miss me.”

“Of course I did,” says Lem, “Didn’t you miss  _ me _ ?”

“Well,  _ obviously _ ,” says Fero, “Even though you’re one of the worst travel companions I ever had-”

“Hey-!”

“You were also kind of one of the best,” continues Fero.

Lem’s cheeks flush. “Well. Thank you, I- Well. Same to you, to both.”

Fero laughs. He leans back, poking the book in Lem’s lap with his toe. “What’cha reading?”

“Oh, it’s-” Lem looks down at the cover. “It’s one of Uklan Tel’s actually, he’s doing some amazing - and  _ entirely theoretical _ , Sunder assures me - work with folding the pattern to fit into the new world…”

Fero relaxes back, half leaning against Lem’s shoulder as he listens. He can spend a little while longer here before he goes home. After all, he doesn’t have any set plans.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi: mariusperkins on most places


End file.
